The Indie Sleaze Revival

Set the scene: it is 2000 something. People have weird haircuts, skinny jeans, and Balenciaga City bags. Kate Moss and Pete Doherty rule the headlines, electronic music leads the underground with acts like Justice and Daft Punk, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are playing at the next venue over. This was indie sleaze–no wonder people want a nightlife and style like that back. 

Indie sleaze was a popular fashion style from the mid-2000s to the late 2010s that highlighted a messy take on vintage fashion. Though the term itself wasn’t coined until 2021 by social media users, the aesthetic has recently resurged in 2024, thanks to figures like Charli XCX and The Dare, as well as Instagram accounts such as “indiesleaze” and photographer “myleshendrik.”

When indie sleaze is mentioned, my mind goes to Sky Ferreira’s unintentionally cool-girl demeanor. Ferriera’s hit single “Everything is Embarrassing” came out in 2012, a pivotal time in the trend’s history as it was the end of the indie sleaze era. “Everything is Embarrassing” represented a shift in music trends towards something new.

When it comes to trends, they are repeated and recycled, but turned into something never done before. For example, in 2020 when Y2K had its revival moment, it was not an exact replica of Y2K but a current-day irradiation of it. The saturation of indie sleaze as a fashion and cultural trend may be over again as soon as it began, but it is reemerging with a fresh edge.

On February 22, 2024, Charli XCX hosted a Boiler Room event in New York City to kickstart her BRAT era. Charli XCX revived indie sleaze with not only her fashion but her musical style, presenting a love story to her time in the London rave scene as an adolescent during the original era. Six million people saw that partying and getting raunchy was back–that getting sleazy is the way to do things in your young years. 

Bleached grown-out hair,  the magical pairing of Alexa Chung and Alex Turner, and the club scene at the time ruled. The revival may come as a surprise because it hasn’t been long since the indie sleaze era “died”. But one question comes to mind: will it ever come back as full-throttle and unapologetic as before?

Written by Andrea Mejia

Graphics by Mike Manangan